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1 [1] (January 8, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/govenxz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service nforrming Ih I gisative debat since 1914 China and Sub-Saharan Africa S January 8, 2024 The People's Republic of China (PRC, or China) maintains relations with nearly every country in Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa). Often dating to the Cold War, these ties grew in scope and diversity after the launch in 2000 of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a channel for high- level contacts. Some Members of Congress have asserted that China's geostrategic aims in Africa pose threats to U.S. foreign policy and national security interests. The Biden Administration has emphasized strategic competition with the PRC in its national security and regional strategy; the U.S. Secretary of Defense has labeled China's activities in Africa as destabilizing. PRC interests in Africa center on expanding trade, finance, and investment ties and securing international support for the PRC's positions and policies. PRC industrial demand for Africa's commodities, including critical minerals, make the region important for China's manufacturing sector. PRC firms are active across Africa, where there is sizable demand for PRC goods and services, notably infrastructure construction. Much of China's large-scale commercial activity in Africa is aided by PRC state-backed credit, often tied to the use of PRC goods and services. PRC loans have contributed to rising sovereign debt distress in Africa. In terms of African governments' approaches to the PRC, economic interests (e.g., export growth, capital, and access to inexpensive goods), as well as geopolitical motivations (either as a preference for some PRC policies or for diverse international partnerships), may influence decisions. Public opinion analysis in Africa shows a wide range of views. Surveys from Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa indicate more favorable views compared to non-African countries. Other polling suggests generally positive views of China's economic and political influence, with the strongest assessments of the PRC's model of development in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Interstate Relations The PRC has established diplomatic ties with all African countries except Eswatini, which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The PRC claims multiple bilateral strategic and other partnerships in Africa, maintains a mission to the African Union (AU), and has special representatives to regional groups (e.g., the East African Community). FOCAC has a multi-level structure consisting of summits, ministerial conferences, and other senior official meetings on thematic issues (e.g., trade, health, defense, law, and media). At triennial FOCAC summits, the PRC and FOCAC's African members set out PRC-African cooperation goals, as under the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035 adopted in 2021. Cooperation also takes place via multilateral platforms such as U.N. bodies and groups of emerging economies. At a 2023 China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, PRC leader Xi Jinping said China would launch initiatives supporting industrialization, agricultural modernization, and talent development in Africa. Economic Relations China's goods trade with Africa totaled $243 billion in 2022, up from $181 billion in 2013, per International Monetary Fund data. In comparison, U.S.-Africa trade totaled $50 billion in 2022, down from $63 billion in 2013 (see Figure 1). China's top African trading partner in 2022 was South Africa (accounting for -$53 billion or 21% of PRC trade with the region). Other top PRC trade partners include Angola, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). China's top imports from Africa consist of fossil fuels and metals, including precious metals and critical minerals, which are crucial in a range of strategic industries. China has a 2019 bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with Mauritius, and China and the Southern African Customs Union have a customs cooperation agreement and reportedly are negotiating a full FTA. Figure 1. U.S. & China Total Goods Trade with Africa By Value ($USD Billions) - _+-cira - -Unit~e Stazcs 300 2a13 2314 2:1E 201: 21 2 01_ 2 2 Source: International Monetary Fund Direction of Trade Statistics China's economic activity in Africa is mediated, in part, by China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multifaceted foreign economic policy and investment program. (See CRS In Focus IF11735, China's One Belt, One Road Initiative: Economic Issues.) Eswatini and Mauritius are the only African countries that have not joined the BRI. China has established a dominant position in many critical mineral supply chains by investing in mining operations across Africa (e.g., cobalt mining in DRC) and importing a large share of Africa's mineral production. PRC entities provided roughly $90 billion in non-bond investment to African countries between 2005 and 2022,